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Motuc mer-man attacks!!

It's been a while, but I've been working on a follow up to my original fanfic. BY THE POWER As in my first one, this is a side story, not a direct sequel. A sequel and a few follow up are being worked at.

Man-At-Arms stood in front of what he once considered his greatest achievement. Now, the Mystic Wall lies in large shattered ruins of yellow crystal. What used to be indestructible and impervious can now be broken with a good laser blast or a solid hammer. Three moons had gone by since the Mystic Wall fell and Man-At-Arms could still not believe it.

Yet, he stood now before the broken pieces of his greatest achievement. When he designed the Mystic Wall, Man-At-Arms could not fathom anything that would be able to bring down the wall. And somehow Skeletor destroyed the Mystic Wall. For the last month, Man-At-Arms had been traveling all through Eternia studying the shattered wall yet, he mystery of how Skeletor acomplished it still eluded him.

Prince Adam yawned and appeared bored as he walked along the wall with Orko and Cringer. Man-At-Arms knew the bored prince was now a ruse. His crimson sword rested on Adam’s back in case he had to transform into He-man. To Teela’s frustration, the prince appeared not be taking his patrol responsibilities seriously, but Man-At-Arms and Orko knew different. Adam took his new role as Eternia’s champion serious and secretly trained and studied. He was not the same prince from before. In fact, since He-man’s and Skeletor’s appearance, a change has been in the wind.

A tinge of guilt struck Man-At-Arms when he looked at his daughter, Teela. He watched her grow from a child to a beautiful young woman with a father’s pride. She was the finest warrior he had ever trained and was a natural born leader. There was much he wanted to tell his daughter, but Man-At-Arms remembered his oath and duty. He also thought about the painful burden she would face later and wished he could spare her from her fate. For now, he took some comfort in keeping her near him.

Man-At-Arms walked around. Large parts of the wall still stood, but other parts broke away or fell. The wall is not going to keep anybody from the other side away. At worse, it may just inconvenience a Dark Hemisphere dweller to find a way around or blast through it.

In his thoughts, Man-At-Arms compared the wall to ancient ruins and broken statues of lost times and civilizations. He wondered how future generations will see his wall. He remembered a great Eternian poet who wrote an ode to such a broken and shattered monument. “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” Man-At-Arms quoted with a sad frustration in his voice.

“You said something, father?” Teela asked.

“Oh,” Man-At-Arms didn’t realize he spoke out loud. Teela had wandered over to him when Man-At-Arms was in deep contemplation and didn’t notice her presence. “I’m just thinking about what we kept out with this wall. There hasn’t been much news,” Man-At-Arms referred to Skeletor and his minions. His lieutenants have been spotted in locations all over Eternia, but they remained elusive.

“I know,” Teela turned her attention to the Mystic Wall. On the other side was the Dark Hemisphere: home to Snake Mountain. “No word of Skeletor and it has been months. Maybe he did perish,” Teela said with some hope. Skeletor fell into a magma pocket. Yet, the Sorceress claimed to have sensed his presence some time later, but not recently. The idea of a creature like Skeletor roaming Eternia scared her. She could not fathom that Skeletor was once a man.

Man-At-Arms looked over to the returning prince, “I wish it were so, but I know he’s out there.” Man-At-Arms gave a solemn look toward the Dark Hemisphere. He knew beyond the desert region the soil was dark with ash. The skies were clouded with by the smoke of the flowing volcanoes and Snake Mountain stood amid all the chaos. He wondered if Skeletor was in there plotting his next move.

Cringer walked with a tired expression. Teela observed the tiger and quietly shook her head. “Adam, why do you insist on bringing your pet to these missions?” Teela asked. For all their excursions on surveying the Mystic Wall, Cringer had done nothing but hide from any scary noise or sleep the day away. “That tiger completely useless out here,” Teela declared.

“Don’t be so hard on him,” Prince Adam stroked Cringer’s head. “He’s a lot braver than you know,” Adam spoke in a very low voice. Teela did not hear what he said and chose to focus her attention back on her duties.

The tiger enjoyed the scratch for a moment, but then craved a nice spot for a nap. “Anything, Duncan?” Prince Adam sat down on a large crystal rock. Cringer continued walking to a nice shady spot by a tree where Orko was picking up a few hand sized pieces of the Mystic Wall and started juggling them.

Man-At-Arms tapped on his scanner, “That’s the mystery here.” Man-At-Arms picked up a piece of the wall and moved it in front of his scanner. “The Mystic Wall was an unknown substance. It was somehow solid and liquid, which was why it was suppose to be impenetrable. It was made from elements that no longer exist in the universe,” Man-At-Arms held up the crystal piece, “This is a common crystal.” Man-At-Arms thought of the time when the wall was penetrated, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Man-At-Arms tossed the crystal. He pulled out his mace and walked toward a boulder sized piece of the wall. With a quick force down, Man-At-Arms smashed the crystal into hundreds of pieces. “Whatever hit this wall, it changed the chemical composition. That’s how the wall fell,” Man-At-Arms turned his attention to the wall.

“How did that happen?” Orko asked while he continued to juggle the crystal pieces.

Man-At-Arms looked at a piece Orko was juggling. For a moment, the piece glowed with a yellow energy. “Orko, your crystals,” Man-At-Arms made a grab for the yellow crystal.

“Huh?” Orko paid no attention to Man-At-Arms’s words. The Trollan lost his concentration when Man-At-Arms reached for a crystal piece. The stones fell to the ground. Man-At-Arms reached for them, but the yellow crystal struck a piece of crystal. In sudden burst of light, the crystal exploded with energy. Man-At-Arms and the others instinctively looked away. The hand scanner suddenly spiked with energy.

“Sorry, Man-At-Arms,” Orko said with lament.

“It’s alright,” Man-At-Arms reminded himself to remain calm. He looked through the readings and zoomed in on the energy spike. “This is amazing,” he said.

Nobody paid attention to the subtle vibration on the ground. Cringer opened his eyes. The small pebbles and dirt on the ground was slightly rising and falling. At first, the tiger turned his head and stared at the ground with curiosity.

Adam felt movement on his feet. He noticed the ground around him. “Hey, I thi…” Prince Adam didn’t finish his sentence because the ground underneath him exploded. Adam quickly reeled back against a pile of crystals. Teela and Man-At-Arms fell to the ground while Orko instinctively flew up.

The ground around Teela exploded. The female warrior quickly rolled to her side and pulled out her sword and shield. Teela looked up to see a fire moloch crawl out of the ground. Teela knew fire moloch’s thrived in the Sands of Fire region nearby, but they never traveled out of their environments.

Adam dodged his own moloch’s attack. The reptiles’ claws smashed into the crystals and grounded them to dust. Adam stood up and pulled out his sword.

Teela moved in and slashed her sword at the moloch. Her sword did not even scratch the hardened skin. In the heat of battle, Teela forgot that fire moloch’s have naturally hard plates. The moloch opened its mouth. With a sudden flash of movement, Teela jumped backed and narrowly avoid the moloch’s fire breath.

Man-At-Arms had to give Adam some space and privacy. He quickly reached into his belt and pulled out a gas pellet. The veteran warrior moved in front of Prince Adam. The fire moloch opened his mouth, which gave Man-At-Arms an opportunity. With sharp accuracy, Man-At-Arms threw the gas pellet straight into the moloch’s mouth. The fire lizard choked on the fire repellant pellet and Man-At-Arms took his advantage. Reaching into his back, Man-At-Arms pulled out his mace and smashed it against the moloch’s face.

The moloch turned over and remained still.

Cringer fearfully roared as it jumped on a high crystal structure. The tiger roared at a fire moloch that rose from the ground. The fire moloch opened its mouth and released a stream of fire. Using his tiger reflexes, Cringer jumped high into the air and into a higher crystal structure. The green tiger looked up to the sky and noticed a strange object moving toward them. Cringer gave a panicked roar.

From the open holes, three more fire molochs appeared. Prince Adam saw that Teela was dodging the fire moloch. With Teela’s attention elsewhere, Adam took advantage and swung his sword against a large crystal structure. The sword sliced the crystal piece in a clean swipe. Adam and Man-At-Arms jumped out of the way as the falling crystal collapse and smashed down into the ground opening.

Teela rolled on the ground as the fire moloch moved it. Teela was breathing hard as she dodged lizard’s attacks with its fierce teeth and sharp claws. Finally, she saw an opportunity. The moloch charged at full velocity. Teela jumped over the reptile and stabbed her sword in between two plates on the creature’s back. The creature struggled for a moment but then it gave its last breath.

“This is Beastman’s doing!” Man-At-Arms declared. He looked around for the evil warrior. Fire molochs do not leave the Sands of Fire. He regretting killing an innocent creature, but Beastman is controlling them to kill them.
Beastman took pleasure as he watched the heroes fight for their lives against his fire molochs. He hid in the nearby rocks and focused his power on brining more animals. It was fortunate for him that he was in the vicinity and used his animal powers to force the fire molochs to attack.

“Adam, look out!” Orko zoomed by him as another fire moloch charged.
Prince Adam jumped high into a crystal structure. He assessed the situation; Man-At-Arms and Teela were struggling with the fire moloch. Adam had to get away. He turned and saw Cringer leap from the remains of the Mystic Wall. “Good idea, Cringer,” Adam leaped to a higher crystal structure and moved up to the Mystic Wall.

Teela looked toward Adam and saw him climb up to the Mystic Wall. “I can’t believe he’s running,” Teela said. A fire moloch swiped its claw at her.
“I told him to run, Teela” Man-At-Arms appeared and threw more fire repellants at the fire molochs. It was a small deterrent at best. The fire moloched chocked on the gas for a moment, but were forced to continue to fight because of Beastman’s powers. Teela realized that there was wisdom in ordering Adam to leave. The prince was not a great fighter. He was good at athletics, but Teela knew he lacked in basic fighting skills. The fire molochs were suddenly distracted by the flying crystal stones.

“I can help!” Orko raised his hands and a lot of small crystal stones rose from the ground. Orko used his magic to throw them at the lizards, but they quickly lost strength at it struck the creatures. “I got to build some velocity,” Orko raise more rocks and threw them, but they were even weaker hits.

Prince Adam reached the highest point of the Mystic Wall remains. He leaped away from Teela’s and Man-At-Arms’ sight. He raised his sword, but Cringer roared in fear. He turned to face his panicked tiger. “What’ th…?” Adam didn’t finish his sentence because he was suddenly grabbed by a giant bird talon and taken away.

Pausing a moment, Cringer gritted his teeth and jumped down on the Dark Hemisphere from his high perch. The tiger ran as fast as it could toward Adam’s direction.

“I’ll go!” Orko flew up and headed straight toward the Dark Hemisphere.
Teela stabbed her sword into a fire moloch’s side and jumped over the lizard. A loud animal roar turned her around and made her raise her shield.

Beastman appeared from the high rocks and attacked. Teela’s shield blocked Beastman’s claw strike. Beastman moved with lighting reflexes and back slapped Teela across the face. The female warrior flew back from the strike and hit the ground hard.

“Teela!” Man-At-Arms charged in. Beastman pulled out his electric whip and lashed out at the warrior. Man-At-Arms quickly raised his mace and blocked the strike. The whip wrapped itself around the mace. Beastman and Man-At-Arms found themselves in a tug-of-war.

Prince Adam was very grateful to have been taken away by a vulture’s talon. Adam remembered from his studies that these dark vultures only feed on large dead animals. Beastman forced it to go outside of its natural habits. He didn’t want to think what Beastman ordered the animal to do. Prince Adam looked over and he was not very deep into the Dark Hemisphere. He tightened his grip on the sword pressed against his body.

“BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!” Adam unleashed the power within. His sword emitted a flash of power and electricity. In a panic, the vulture released Adam. As he fell through the air, Adam began his transformation. His clothes changed and his body grew in strength. Adam crashed into the ground creating a massive crater. For a moment, the area was quiet and still.

He-man rose from the crater with his sword raised above his head, “I HAVE THE POWER!” Cringer leaped into the crater as He-man pointed his sword at him. The energy from the sword reached out to the meek tiger and transformed him into the mighty Battle Cat!

Beastman had Man-At-Arms down on the ground. The veteran warrior’s mace was barely out of rich and Beastman was on top of him slamming his fists down on him. Man-At-Arms’ armor was holding out and he was able to block Beastman from grabbing his neck, but the evil creature had the advantage.

A mother fire moloch slowly rose from an opening on the ground. It turned her large plated head toward the struggle between Beastman and Man-At-Arms. It had a voice ringing in the creature’s head to move and kill. A great fear overwhelmed her if she did not obey the master. The master wanted it to kill and destroy. The moloch turned her head and saw an unconscious human female. Slowly, the mother fire moloch rose from the hole and inched her large plated body toward the female.

“DIE!!” Beastman raised his arms for a killing blow.

A loud roar from the Dark Hemisphere erupted. Beastman looked up to see He-man leap off Battle Cat and head straight for him. Beastman raised his arms and caught He-man. The two warriors struggled to the ground trying to gain the upper edge.

Man-At-Arms struggled to breathe. The armor had protected him from Beastman’s death blows and claws, but his armor was crushed and pressed against his body. Man-At-Arms tapped on his release controls, but the armor did not respond. He quickly began to work on the armor’s magnetic locks. Battle Cat saw the mother fire moloch inching toward Teela. Battle Cat jumped on the moloch and tore into the creature with its fierce tiger claws. Battle Cat’s strike barely scratched the lizard’s hardened plates. The large moloch used its own claws to push the tiger away. Beastman’s commands to kill scratched against large moloch’s head.

Battle Cat rose to his feet and saw the mother fire moloch open her mouth. Teela was right in moloch’s line of sight. Without hesitation and fear, Battle Cat leaped in front of Teela and moved to his side.

He-man looked up as he wrestled Beastman. “Battle Cat!” He-man gave Beastman a quick head-butt and then charged for the fire moloch. Beastman wanted to stand up, but the blow left him severely groggy.

The fire moloch’s stream of fire hit Battle Cat on the side. His armored saddle took the brunt, but the tiger roared in pain.

He-man pulled out his Sword of Light and jumped on the fire moloch’s back. He-man easily rammed his sword through the fire moloch’s armored head. The moloch collapsed and ceased to live. He-man removed his blade and sprung for Battle Cat.

“I can help, Man-At-Arms!” Orko suddenly appeared as Man-At-Arms was struggling with his armor. The locks were not moving and it was becoming more difficult to breathe.

“Orko! No!” Man-At-Arms raised his arms to protest. Orko and technology did not mix and he had enough broken equipment and blown up experiments to prove it. Orko unleashed a small orange energy ball. Man-At-Arms tried to block the energy ball, but it touched his armor. For a moment, nothing happened. Orko looked like he expected something to happen. Man-At-Arms was about to say something, but then his entire chest armor fell apart.

“My armor was never supposed to do that,” Man-At-Arms took a deep breath. He was grateful his ribs were not broken but probably bruised. He grabbed his mace and short sword from the ground and quickly stood up. The molochs were dead. He looked around, Beastman had disappeared. The animal warrior was vicious, but cowardly when facing a losing battle.

With a sudden fear and worry, He-man ran to his great tiger steed. Battle Cat was collapsed on the ground. His back right leg was burned and his fur was badly singed. His armored harness was scorched and smoldering. Man-At-Arms ran up to the tiger’s wound and opened a small gas valve on his armored bracer.

“Fire extinguisher,” Man-At-Arms explained as he sprayed on the tiger’s wounds, “The cold will numb the wounds long enough for us to get him aid.” The tiger laid down to its side and the let spray hit him.

With great gentleness, He-man unhooked Battle Cat’s war helm and stroked his tiger’s head. “Rest a bit. We’ll get you healed soon enough,” He-man quietly said. The tiger quietly growled. He-man looked over at Teela. She began to stir. He-man gave his cat one more stroke and then moved to Teela’s side.

The female warrior opened her eyes to see He-man kneeling down beside her. To Teela, it was a welcomed sight. His face had a gentle familiar warmth. She could swear he looked like somebody else.

“Are you ok,” He-man asked.

Teela took a moment to realize why she was unconscious. She slowly sat up with He-man’s aid and looked at her surroundings. There was plenty of dead fire molochs and Battle Cat was wounded in front of her. Her father approached her. His armor was off and he carried wounds. “I missed a bad battle,” Teela stated. She slowly rose to her feet as Man-At-Arms rushed to her side.

“Daughter, are you ok?” Man-At-Arms asked.

“I got a headache,” Teela rubbed the back of her head. It felt sore and slightly tender. “I’ll be fine,” Teela continued. She then looked at Battle Cat. The tiger was lying on the floor with scorch marks on its saddle and harness. “Oh no,” Teela looked at the massive fire moloch and at Battle Cat. “Oh no,” Teela repeated and covered her mouth with her hand. She easily realized the tiger protected her. Teela quickly feel to her knees besides Battle Cat’s head and gently hugged the tiger.

“Adam is fine,” He-man assured Teela, “I found rescued him from the vulture and had him hide in a safe place not too far from here. I told him to await my return.”

Man-At-Arms grabbed the back of Teela’s neck.

“Ouch!” Teela felt a sudden sharp pain where Man-At-Arms touched the back of her head.

“Hmm,” Man-At-Arms pretended to be concerned, “We better get you to the healers and have you looked at.” With insistence, Man-At-Arms picked up his daughter by her shoulder.

“But father,” Teela tried to get a word in edgewise, but Man-At-Arms raised his hand in protest. From a nearby tree, Teela saw a dark colored bird with dark green eyes. The bird appeared as it was watching them intently. As if it was suddenly discovered, the bird flew out of the tree and soared high in the air.

“No buts, young lady,” Man-At-Arms was imposing his fatherly authority on Teela. She wanted to protest, but she knew how her father would get. Man-At-Arms looked over at He-man and Battle Cat. “I got to get Teela to the healers. Adam had his wind raider nearby. Please use it and bring Adam and Cringer home. I’m sure you can transport Battle Cat in it too. Orko can go help too.”

The Trollan looked a bit confused, but nodded.

He-man understood what Duncan was doing for him. “Yes,” He-man nodded, “Thank you. I’ll see you all again.” With that, Man-At-Arms took Teela away on the wind raider. He-man and Orko stood a moment and waited for the wind raider to disappear. He-man looked over at Battle Cat, “Let’s get you in that wind raider.” He-man aimed his sword at Battle Cat. “I think Cringer would be more comfortable.”

* * *

The dark bird of prey soared over the dark hemisphere with speed and intensity. Its sharp vision saw Snake Mountain was nearing. With speed and agility, the dark bird soared into a secret mountain top entrance to Snake Mountain. The bird soared through a series of labyrinth type passages.
The throne room of Snake Mountain remained hollow and still with the absence of its true ruler.

Much to Evil-lyn’s frustration, the power of Snake Mountain was denied to her. The throne could only claim one master and he has yet to return. The evil enchantress’ thoughts were filled with murder and promises of power. She would have to take more direct matters if she planned to usurp her master.

The rustling of wings distracted Evil-lyn from her dark thoughts. “My dear Screech,” Evil-lyn smiled. She was glad to see her bird of prey. Since their escape from the Mystic Wall and the appearance of He-man, Evil-lyn’s psychic visions have diminished. The bird flew down besides her just as Evil-lyn waved her hand and made a perch appear before her. The dark bird clenched its razor sharp talons on the perch and rested. Evil-lyn raised her magical orb staff before her. Her eyes glowed with blue energy as her sphere did the same.

“Show me,” Evil-lyn commanded. Screech’s evil bird eyes glowed with blue magic and images appeared inside the magic sphere. She could see the events unfold. Evil-lyn looked at her bird, “I think you’re more intelligent than Beastman, my pet.” Screech made no reply; it merely sat on its perch. Evil-lyn tapped her fingers on the arm rest.

She thought for a moment and then she realized what could have happened to the piece. Evil-lyn took a deep breath and touched the temple of her head. “Of all the fools to have the crystal,” Evil-lyn said out loud.

Mer-man swam deep beneath the ocean. He moved with swiftness and ease through the darkened oceans as he continued his search. He glided over to a sunken ship when he heard a deep growl. With a smile, Mer-man knew what he sought was hidden away in the opened bowels of the sunken ship. “Come my precious,” Mer-man raised his newly formed trident.

The three prongs of the spear were formed with a strange glowling material. Mer-man aimed his spear at the large crustacean emerging from the ship. The creature snapped its claws at him as the trident glowed and unleashed a mystical power. The crustacean began to grow and form spikes around its hardened shell.

***

Sometime later, Prince Adam sat by his pet tiger in a bedroom chamber inside Castle Grayskull. The Sorceress knelled besides Cringer and passed her hand gently over the tiger’s wounds. Cringer felt a great relief as it appeared his wounds were healing quickly.

“Wow,” Orko said with amazement, “Could you teach me that?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea,” Adam interred, “With you magic?”

Orko thought about it for a moment. His magic was unstable and chaotic. He just had a thought of what would happen if he used his magic on a wound. “Nevermind,” Orko said.

“These burns were bad,” The Sorceress said, “I can only accelerate the healing process. He still needs to rest and recover, but Cringer should be fine in a day or so.” The Sorceress cast another enchantment and Cringer’s wounds were magically covered with cloth wraps. The Sorceress stroked Cringer’s head as the tiger fell asleep.

“Thank you,” Prince Adam said.

The Sorceress gave no acknowledgement; she simply touched Cringer’s head with great care and ease. Once Cringer was asleep, the Sorceress rose and looked at Adam. “Come with me,” she commanded, “I need to discuss some things with both of you.” The Sorceress stepped out of the chamber.
Prince Adam and Orko followed her to the castle’s throne room.

The Sorceress grew concerned about something, but Adam had no clue.
“Man-At-Arms was wise to seek out the comet that struck the Mystic Wall,” The Sorceress explained as she formed her magical staff. She waved her staff over the vision pool and made it glow. In a flash, she brought up an image of a comet moving through the vastness of outer space.

“Comets are supposed to be just chunks of rocks that broke away from celestial bodies,” Orko commented.

“Partly,” The Sorceress informed him, “This comet was from a very important celestial body. It was a solidified piece of cosmic energy, the source where magic comes from. It is so ancient and mysterious that the element has no name. It is very similar to our planet’s core which is why Eternia is filled with diverse life and magic. Our planet core is abundant in it. Every planet that carries life has a little piece of it in their core. Even some special items have elements of this comet in them.”

Adam looked at the image of the comet soaring through space. The comet passed through the great galactic barrier at the center of the universe and found its way near Eternia. Adam watched as the comet was magically pulled and forced down on Eternia and hit the Mystic Wall with great intensity and fury that unleashed the power within the comet. The Mystic Wall turned to hardened crystal and cracked. In no time, the Mystic wall collapsed and Skeletor’s army moved.

“The stone’s power is chaotic as life can be. It can create and well as destroy,” the Sorceress said.

“Where is the piece?” Adam asked, “Can you see it?”

The Sorceress sat on throne of Castle Grayskull and closed her eyes. Using her magical powers, she focused her thoughts to see what cannot be seen. She knew Adam feared that Skeletor might have it. Even with her abilities of foresight, the Sorceress has not been able to know of Skeletor’s whereabouts. The Sorceress feared Skeletor’s return as well.

Then a vision came to her. She heard screams of terror and lives destroyed. She gripped the throne’s armrest and pushed her back hard against the marble chair. “No,” the Sorceress spoke with fear.
Prince Adam grew concerned. He did not know what was happening to the Sorceress, but he knew enough something terrible was occurring.

“Sorceress!” Adam yelled. He rushed up the steps to her, but she quickly raised her hand to him.

“I am fine,” the Sorceress spoke. She took a deep breath to compose herself and then looked at Adam. “The fishing village of Anaore,” the Sorceress said suddenly, “it is in great danger.”

Prince Adam pulled out his crimson sword, “I can handle it alone. No need to put others in harm’s way.” The crimson sword began to turn silver.

Without hesitation, Adam ran out of the throne room. As he left the entrance of Castle Grayskull and ran toward his wind raider, Prince Adam raised his sword and called out, “BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!!!”

The village of Anaore was being ravaged by massive crustacean monster. The fishermen in the village prided themselves on seeing every living form of sea creature, but none had ever seen a crustacean like the one which is destroying their village. The monster was twice as large as a battle ram and four times more dangerous. The monster moved with incredible swiftness and the village men could not keep up.

A mother and her daughter raced through the wooden buildings when suddenly, a stone wall burst out before them. The crustacean monster roared as it caught sight of the mother and daughter. There was nowhere to run as the monster approached them. The mother could only hold her daughter and shield her as the monster swung down its massive claw.

The crushing blow never struck the mother and daughter. The woman looked up to see a tall powerful warrior holding the monster’s claw in a vicious tug-of-war. Orko appeared and led a group of villagers to the woman. The villagers quickly took the mother and child to safety.

“Thank you, He-man!” a villager yelled.

He-man struggled holding the monster down, “Get to safety! I’ll take care of this!” The crustacean monster was powerful. Even with his superhuman strength, He-man barely held the giant claw in place. He-man had to make sure he did not get into the monster’s grip. It could tear him in half. The villagers fled out of the village but Orko remained.

“You too, Orko!” He-man yelled as he struggled holding the claw down.

“I can help!” Orko replied.

“Go! Now!” He-man yelled back, “I can take care of this! Keep the villagers out until I’m done.”

With hesitation, Orko complied and flied toward the fleeing villagers.
Knowing that the villagers were out of his way, He-man twisted the monster claw and twisted the creature’s arm. The monster roared with pain, but quickly swung its other claw. He-man wasn’t fast enough to block the claw and took the full force of the monster’s strike.

Crashing through seven buildings, He-man crashed hard into the eighth building. “Bad idea,” He-man said to himself. As he tried to recover from the hard blow, the entire building collapsed on him.

Mer-man watched the monster’s attack on the back of his sea serpent. Mer-man’s eyesight was very sharp and clear. He could see with no light at the bottom of the ocean floor the surface world was easier for him to spot anything. The ocean warlord witnessed his monster sending He-man into the air and crashing into buildings. Mer-man smiled and exposed his sharp teeth.

“Kill him!” Mer-man transmitted his thoughts into the crustacean monster. He tightened his fist and raised his trident. The monster back in the village roared as it grew bigger and deadlier. As it moved toward the collapsed building, it’s newly sharpened legs tore into the cobble stone streets with each step. It reached the collapsed building He-man fell in and began crushing the debris with its newly spiked claws.

In a sudden burst of speed, He-man rose from the ground and quickly sliced off a piece of the monster’s claw with his sword. The monster screamed in pain as cracks began to form around the crustacean’s wound. A strong yellow energy light seeped out of the cracks. The monster continued to grow in size. It screamed as cracks began to form all over its exoskeleton.

The creature moved in for another strike. He-man held his sword ready.

“What?” He-man lowered his sword, but the creature moved in and swatted him across the streets and into an anchored ship on the torn harbor.

He-man crashed through the ship and into the ocean.

The Sorceress sat on the throne of Castle Grayskull and transmitted her thoughts to him. Using her vision pool, the Sorceress was monitoring He-man’s battle. He-man crashed into the waters, but his body could hold his breath for a very long time. “Your sword is composed of similar elements to the comet,” the Sorceress explained, “The sword began a chain reaction within the creature. It’s going to explode and destroy the entire village.”

Still holding his breath, He-man sheathed his sword. He accepted the fact that he was going to have to do this without his Sword of Light.

He-man looked around as he swam toward the surface. Beneath the water, he passed the sinking boat and an idea came to him. Quickly, he swam back toward the sinking boat.

Mer-man could see something was happening to his creature. The hard shelled body of the crustacean was breaking. He would have to use something without an exoskeleton. He gnarled in frustration and sunk down into the waters. He had to rethink his strategy if he was going to complete his revenge.

The crustacean monster was in a full rage. Its body was cracked and oozing with yellow energy. It continued tearing through the village as its body began to break apart. Suddenly, an anchor hooked itself around the leg of the crustacean monster. Monster turned around just as He-man yanked on the massive chain of the ship. “You have to leave now,” He-man gave one more tug and the creature flipped over on its back.

Running up to the creature, He-man wrapped the chair around the claw and body and pulled on it. “You are one heavy creature,” He-man grunted. He dragged the struggling monster to a clearing. He-man faced an uninterrupted view of the ocean. Using his incredible strength, He-man gripped on to the anchor chain and tossed the creature high into the air. A far distance away just above the ocean, the crustacean monster suddenly exploded with the strange energy that made it large.

“That creature would have taken out the entire village,” Orko observed. He-man looked around. The village was practically rubble from the monster’s attack. Only a few buildings were left standing.

“I think it already did,” He-man said with regret. That didn’t stop the villagers from returning to the village and thank their hero for saving their lives. They assured him they would rebuild and be stronger for it. He-man felt he should do more and he began to help the village clean up. Orko gladly joined in the relief effort and the village felt anew with energy. As the sun began to set later in the day, He-man felt he accomplished more helping the villagers than fighting the monster.

But as He-man and Orko helped rebuild the village, an old peasant woman in a blue cloak observed the damage and listened to the stories of the day’s event. The old woman walked through the cobbled stone street the monster tore. She kneeled down beside a hole the monster created. The old woman reached in and pulled out a piece of the monster’s exoskeleton. It had a slight glow of yellow energy.

The old woman laughed as she walked into a deserted alley. She unbuttoned her cloak and as the cloak touched the ground, the old woman transformed into Evil-lyn. In a flash of light, she vanished into thin air leaving only the cloak behind.

The Royal Palace of Eternos was peaceful the following morning. The sun was rising and the palace gave a warm orange glow of a new day. The newly constructed laser turrets monitored the skies and the nearby grounds. Even with many guards patrolling the palace grounds and walls, the palace still appeared to be asleep.

Only Man-At-Arms’ laboratory was busy with constant activity and movement. The warehouse was full of gadgets and computer components. Strange and exotic energy and melee weapons rested in display tables. Partially assembled prototype vehicles were parked in a large garage.

A small manufacturing system was currently assembling a skeletal arm with wires and gears. A pair of robotic looking human legs walked on a treadmill as a scanner monitored its progress.

At one end of the warehouse, the only biological resident of the warehouse was hard at work with his scanners as he analyzed a piece of exoskeleton from the crustacean monster. On a table next to him, a new and improved body armor waited to be worn.

Duncan sat in front of his computer console and looked at the stream of numbers and readings he was receiving. His scanning equipment nearby was moving back and forth looking at a piece of a broken claw from the crustacean monster. Without his body armor and helmet, Duncan looked worn and tire, but remained driven to finish his analysis.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been up all night?” Prince Adam yawned as he walked into the warehouse through the palace entrance. The young prince was not wearing his shirt or vest. He appeared to have just showered. Man-At-Arms knew that the prince was really secretly training in the battle simulation room. Adam slipped on his white shirt, so he could hide his bruises. Word already got to Duncan about He-man’s battle at Anaora.

He even heard about how He-man stayed and helped rebuild. Much to King Randor’s frustrations, Prince Adam had to uphold the image of a lazy prince. But Duncan could see the makings of a great king in Prince Adam. He was just not going to admit to tell Adam that.

“I can’t sleep when I know Mer-man is out there planning his next attack,” Man-At-Arms tapped some commands on his hologram console and the different colored lasers appeared and harmlessly ran over the exoskeleton piece. Man-At-Arms rubbed his eyes. Adam didn’t want to say anything, but he noticed that Man-At-Arms had not slept much.

Man-At-Arms felt sore and he did crave some sleep. “How is Cringer?” Duncan inquired. He just realized he had not seen Adam’s pet since the attack.

“Orko and I brought him in last night. He’s resting in my room and the Sorceress’ spell has covered his wounds, but he’s out of commission for a few days. No Battle Cat for a while,” Adam explained.

Orko suddenly appeared from nowhere, “I just checked in on him. He’s fast asleep.” The Trollan had a bad habit of suddenly appearing. Duncan found it very annoying, but Prince Adam was used to it.

“Battle Cat is ever the hero as He-man. I have to remember to bring him some extra fish for saving my daughter,” Duncan remarked.

“Speaking of fish,” Adam remarked. He walked over to the scanners working on the crustacean piece. “Have you found anything?” the prince asked.

“It was a crustacean, not a fish,” Duncan corrected him. He had hoped Adam was able to know the difference between the two.

“My mistake,” Adam raised his hands. “That crab monster was tougher than a dragon and it was getting to be about the same size. I don’t want to deal with it again,” Adam crossed his arms and contemplated his next move. As He-man, he could defeat any monster, but there was no way of knowing where Mer-man would attack next. Even in the fastest vehicle, another village would suffer like Anaore. “I have to patrol the oceans,” Adam said, “until Mer-man shows himself.”

Man-At-Arms pulled out a holographic display of the cell structure of the claw piece. “You may not have to,” Man-At-Arms pointed to the surface layer, “Whatever that comet piece is; it has mutagenic properties and strange energy reading. The crustacean is very much like an insect, its muscles are on in the inside and its skeleton is on the outside.”

“That explains the hard shell,” Orko interjected, “but Mer-man isn’t just going to give up. He could be anywhere in the ocean.”

Man-At-Arms tapped on his console and a robotic arm appeared from the ground and handed him a hand scanner. “No, but he might used things with no shell,” Man-At-Arms tapped on the scanner and began to sync it with his console. “He might begin using other things,” Man-At-Arm added.

“There are a lot of dangerous creatures in the ocean,” Adam said, “Imagine if any mutate to get on land.” Orko didn’t want to image that. A shark in the water was dangerous; he didn’t want to imagine a land one.

“Actually,” Man-At-Arms said as his scanner gave him the readings he wanted. He showed his hand scanner to Adam and Orko. The scanner was giving off a definite reading and clear directions to something. “I found a way to track the energy emission from the comet. It’s very unique and should get stronger signal as you near it,” Man-At-Arms explained.

Man-At-Arms handed the scanner over to Prince Adam. The scanner was clearly giving directions to the Harmony Sea. “This is exactly what I was looking for,” Adam said with excitement. He attached the scanner to his belt and walked toward the hangar exit. “I’ll go check it out right now,” Adam stood on the elevator and hit the control box.

“Hold on, Adam” Man-At-Arms walked to the elevator, “We got to plan things out. You can’t underestimate Mer-man. He’s been bent on revenge against human for over forty years. He’s going to use bigger and more powerful creatures.” Man-At-Arms hoped his counsel got through to Adam, but the boy was leaving.

“Don’t worry,” Prince Adam reassured, “This is what He-man is here for. I have to stop Mer-man from destroying anymore lives. I can stop him.” Adam stepped into the entrance and the doors closed behind him.

Man-At-Arms could hear the sound of a sky sled taking off. He shook his head with worry. He looked to Orko. “That boy is going to need our help,” Man-At-Arms said, “whether he knows it or not.” Man-At-Arms had to gather his forces.

***

Down in the deepest part of the ocean floor, only the most vicious and harshest animals and plants survived. Mer-man floated on the edge of the ocean floor. As he passed through a series of stone pipes, giant tube worms reached out to the ocean warlord. In a blinding flash, Mer-man spun and sliced the tube worms with his shell sword.

The ocean warlord swam through the ocean floor with swiftness and ease. A horned shark pursued him down a narrow passageway. The horned shark turned a corner and came face to face with Mer-man. Mer-man rose up from the passageway with a bloody piece of shark in his hand.

Another horned shark flew toward Mer-man, but the ocean warlord looked him in the eye as he tore into the shark flesh in his hand. The horned shark turned and fled from the ocean warlord.

“What do you want?” Mer-man used his ability to speak underwater. His voice was filled with contempt and hatred. A ghostly image of Evil-lyn appeared before him. It was no secret Mer-man disliked Skeletor’s witch.

She was manipulative and could sense lies in every word she said. She always looked down on him like an inferior creature. Mer-man hates the look in her eyes. They remind him of a time he preferred to forget.

“I know you have the comet,” Evil-lyn plainly said.

“And it is mine!” Mer-man screamed and held up his trident. A flash of electrical energy sparked from his trident.

Evil-lyn smiled and raised her hands. “Oh no, my dear Mer-man. I wouldn’t dream of taking it from you. You are the master and ruler of all the seas of Eternia. Besides, I’m only a projection. You can’t hurt me,” Evil-lyn spoke with the friendliest voice she could muster.

Mer-man lowered his trident. He knew she was merely a projection. From Mer-man’s perspective, it appeared that Evil-lyn was coming to her senses.

“We both serve the same master,” Evil-lyn put her hand on her chest. She gave a sense of sadness at the mention of their missing overlord. “You are the ruler of the seas,” Evil-lyn declared, “and I know why you are going to destroy Eezyar. I’m only here to help.”

***

Twenty years ago, Mer-man waged a war with humans. Immediately after Squidish Rex tore into his father’s throat and seized the throne of his undersea kingdom, ocean warlord declared war on the human race.

The young ruler thought the human sea vessels were trespassers on his kingdom and he demanded tribute if they wished to travel through his domain unharmed. The human race disregarded his demands and Rex retaliated. With his army, Squidish Rex destroyed sea vessels and led many humans to their underwater deaths.

After years of ambushes and hidden attacks, Squidish Rex gained the name of Mer-man among the human populations. Mer-man grew over-confident and saw the pirate ship out in the distance. With only a small force behind him, Mer-man charged the sea vessel.

He had no idea the waters around the vessel were poisoned until his soldiers began dying around him. It was only his superior Squidish strength and powers allowed him to survived the poisoned waters. Severly weakened, Mer-man tried to fight off the Beserker pirates, but they quickly subdued him.

For years, he was held prisoner in the pirate village of Eezyar. He was beaten and tortured on a daily basis and fed only spoiled fish and crabs. He was made an example of for whoever held ideas to usurp the pirates of Eezyar. Every night after his torture, he would look down at the stale water pit they held him in and swear his revenge.

It was not until a young blue human in long dark hair and goatee approached his cage during a stormy night. The human claimed to be a warrior, a sorcerer, and a savior if Mer-man wanted. The stranger asked for only one thing: his sworn loyalty. Mer-man was desperate. He swore to anything as long as he would get his revenge.

The stranger took Mer-man’s hand and smiled. Using magic, the stranger opened the cage and Mer-man was free. With a renewed vigor, Mer-man stormed through the palace grounds and found his prey, the captain of the vessel that captured him. The Beserker Captain had grown fat and old. It was easy for Mer-man to tear him apart and the females he bedded with that night.

Mer-man turned her back to Evil-lyn and began to swim away. The dark enchantress could tell Mer-man was seething with rage. She smiled to herself at how easy he was to manipulate. “He-man is coming on a sky sled,” she said. Her body began to fade away.

Evil-lyn woke from her trance in her chamber at Snake Mountain. She touched her communicator on the table. “Gather together. We go on the attack,” Evil-lyn spoke into the communicator.

Mer-man swam to a dark cavern and floated at the edge of it. He could hear the rustling of movement followed by a low growl. Mer-man stood at eight large spiked tentacles reached out for him, but Mer-man merely raised his hand and held the tentacles in place.

The monster within the cave moved no further until it was commanded to. “You will be my instrument for revenge,” Mer-man declared. His trident glowed with power and the tentacles began to grow and mutate.

He-man sped through the open skies of seas. Man-At-Arms’ scanner was giving him a compass straight toward the comet piece. He maneuvered down and soared just a few feet above the water. He looked around, but the seas were dark. He raised his sky sled higher for a better view. The Beserker islands were not too far away.

He-man hoped he could reach Mer-man before he attacked any villages. His scanner was giving him strong readings in the area. He-man looked to his side and saw a sea serpent rising from the sea. It moved at an incredible speed away from him. The serpent might be a mutated beast, so He-man decided to follow it.

Unbeknownst to He-man, another serpent rose behind him. Mer-man stood on the serpent’s back. The ocean warlord held his trident and focused his energies. When his amassed power reached its zenith, Mer-man swung his trident out with full force. With a great force of magic, the ocean waters burst out in a powerful stream up into the air. The water appeared as a solid stream toward the small sky sled.

He-man was caught completely by surprise when the powerful stream struck his back. He could not hold on to the sky sled as it spun around in the air. As his sky sled spun away, He-man fell straight to the ocean. Mer-man slowly moved down into the sea with his sea serpent.

He-man crashed into the water hard and the momentum kept pushing him further underwater. He managed to slow his descent, but a sudden gush of force pushed him further down. Two glowing objects were speeding toward him as the force suddenly stopped. He-man unsheathed his sword. Two electric eels began circling him. He-man pushed his legs to move up to the surface, but an eel moved in.

He-man swung his sword, but he was too slow underwater. The electric eel easily dodged the sword and its fangs tore into He-man’s right arm. His right arm was suddenly bombarded with intense volts of electricity. Fighting through the intense pain, He-man grabbed the eel and pulled it off.

“That was just the appetizer, He-man,” Mer-man’s voice echoed through the ocean. Mer-man was going to relish this moment. A second and third eel appeared and bit into He-man’s shoulder and leg. He-man wanted to scream from the pain, but he held on and tried to swim upward. “In your world, I’m just brute strength and savagery. In my world, I am a god!” Mer-man moved closer to He-man.

The heroic warrior kept pushing himself to swim up, but the constant volts of kept interrupting his swimming attempts. “And you are dead in the water!” Mer-man aimed his trident and unleashed a powerful volt of electrical energy. He-man was able to hold his breath for a real long time, but the sudden volt of power from the trident forced him to scream and all the air left his lungs.

Mer-man fired a stronger electrical blast from his trident. He-man tried to raise his sword to mount a defense, but the electrical eels moved in and all three sunk their fangs into He-man’s arms. The sudden volt and Mer-man’s second electrical blast was too much. As He-man drifted into unconsciousness, his sword fell from his hand. The last remnants of air left his lungs.

Mer-man waited as the sea serpent moved toward him and carried the ocean warlord away. Mer-man turned his gaze back and watched with glee as He-man lifelessly drifted away in the vast emptiness of the sea.

Back at the throne room of Snake Mountain, the chamber began to glow again from the cracks on the walls and the green lava began to flow once more.

Man-At-Arms flew his wind raider over the city of Eezyar. He was still frustrated by their reception earlier. The Beserkers rejected technology completely and remained very much attached to their ways of violence. The city had no technological defenses and the Beserkers stood by ready to fight anything that came near the city.

Three sea vessels by the seas guarded the city. Hundreds of Beserker warriors stood at the harbors ready to fight anything. Man-At-Arms was at least glad the Beserkers had begrudgingly allowed the battle rams to come in and hold a perimeter. “Are the battle rams ready?” Man-At-Arms spoke into his communicator in his helmet

Teela stood by an armed battle ram. The captain for the guard was in her snake armor and ready for combat. She looked at the guards and each one mounted an armed and ready battle ram. “We are in position and ready,” Teela spoke into her wrist communicator, “I would feel better if we had He-man here.”

“I do to,” Man-At-Arms did not let on he was worried about He-man. Man-At-Arms knew Adam’s sky sled. “I have a friend looking for him now,” he reassured Teela. Man-At-Arms looked at his scanner attached to his ship’s console. It suddenly bleeped with a big energy spike. He tapped on a few buttons and armed his missiles and powered up his laser turret. He knew he had a fight on his hands.

A distance away from the looming battle, Stratos flew on a sky sled. The avian looked through the open waters and used his enhanced eagle-eyes to search for his quarry. His vision zoomed around, but he could not see anything. A squawk from the sky cause Stratos to turn his attention upward. The Avian smiled at the incoming falcon. “Well, my friend, I remember you,” Stratos said. He recalled seeing the same falcon at the battle with Skeletor and He-man. The falcon proved to be a valuable ally to He-man.

“I hope we’re on the same mission,” Stratos said. The falcon gave no reply, it turned away and squawked again. Stratos decided to follow the falcon.
Mer-man was now outside of Eezyar watching the battle. His giant squid was reaching out from the sea and tearing into the city. The creature’s spiked claws easily wrapped around a defense tower and crushed it. The falling stones struck many Beserkers and reign terror into the city. Other tentacles would slam down on the surface and buildings leaving powerful shockwaves and destruction. The ocean warlord could see Man-At-Arms in his flying ship firing down missiles and laser fire on the tentacles. The battle rams fired missiles out, but their weapons did nothing to stop his monster.

He-man opened his eyes just as an ocean wave landed on him. Almost immediately he began coughing up large amounts of sea water. “He-man!” an accented Avian voice yelled out. He-man wanted to call out, but he coughed again.

Stratos had a sudden grip of relief. He-man was alive. The Avian quickly parked the sky sled and ran toward the fallen warrior. “Easy there, lad. You had quite a fall,” Strato helped He-man sit up.

He-man took a moment to collect his bearing. He knew he was ambushed by Mer-man and then he realized his lost his sword. “Thanks Stratos,” He-man said, “I owe you one.” He-man slowly stood up with Stratos’ help.

“You owe your falcon friend over there,” Stratos motioned to a piece of nearby driftwood. A large orange and white falcon with blue tips stood on it.

“Her name is, Zoar” He-man added, “I guess I owe you both.”

“We need you, He-man,” Stratos interred. He was very concerned and anxious. “A large squid or something is attacking the city of Eezyar. Man-At-Arms and Teela are over there trying to mount a defense.”

“I lost my sword,” He-man admitted. He looked at Zoar and felt guilty for not being more prepared. “But we’ll see what we can do,” He-man assured.

“Good,” Stratos commented, “You left your Sky sled floating in the middle of the ocean.” Stratos motioned to the ship. It was slightly beaten and worn, but the sky sled looked ready for action. “Man-At-Arms builds good equipment,” Stratos added, “But I hate piloting. I was a born flyer. We’ll take care of Eezyar first and then we’ll look for your sword together.”

“You don’t have to,” Orko spoke out. His voice was hollow and echoed.
He-man and Stratos turned around to see the Orko wearing a deep diver’s helmet. Once again, Orko appeared from thin air undetected but he bared a gift. “I was just swimming through the ocean and I found this,” Orko handed He-man his Sword of Light.

“Thank you, Orko,” He-man said. With a big smile and relief, He-man took the sword and sheathed the blade to his back techno-vest. He climbed on his sky sled and zoomed high into the sky with Stratos, Orko, and Zoar at his side.

Back at Snake Mountain, the throne of bones began to emit an eerie glow. Green smoke began to protrude from the surface of the throne itself.
“It’s time to crush them!” Mer-man watched with great excitement as his monster destroyed more buildings and the eight tentacles inched closer to the center of the city.

Mer-man pointed his trident down on his sea serpent passed the comet’s energy into his beast. The serpent screamed as wings began to form on its side. The sea serpent began to rise from the sea as it spread and moved its wings. Taking Mer-man up to the skies, the serpent roared with power.
Man-At-Arms kept flying by the monter’s tentacles. His on-board computer was calculating a series of readings, but Man-At-Arms still had to maneuver this wind raider.

He did not notice a flying sea serpent moving toward him. Mer-man aimed his trident and fired a bolt of lightning. The sudden strike on his wind raider caught Man-At-Arms completely by surprised. All his instruments began to burn out because of the sudden power surge. Quickly, Man-At-Arm yanked his hand scanner away from the console before the surge struck it. The wind raider was going down.

“Father!” Teela screamed into her communicator. She looked up to see the wind raider burst on fire and fly straight into the mountainside of the Eezyar.
“Emergency procedures now!” Man-At-Arms commanded. The wind raider’s voice system activated. A sudden movement of mechanical parts emerged from the wind raider’s seat and formed itself around Man-At-Arms’ back and chest.

The wind raider exploded in mid air. The giant fire explosion was noticed from all around. The sky above was suddenly covered in a dark cloud from the burning gas and energy. Teela looked with a sense of shock and worry.

“I’m coming down hard!” her father’s voice echoed on her wrist communicator.
Man-At-Arms was high in the air with an opened parachute, but a small fire was opening a hole. His descending speed was increasing and at the rate he was going, he was not going to survive the impact.

As he passed the darkened cloud, he saw a large spiked tentacle reaching out toward him. The tentacle did not just have large spikes. Man-At-Arms realized the entire surface of the tentacles had smaller hooks in them. “I got a real problem here!” Man-At-Arms yelled into his communicator. The tentacle was going to grab him.

Stratos flew in at full speed and dragged Man-At-Arms away from the tentacle’s grip. “At least we solved one problem,” Stratos joked, “Help is on the way.” He had Man-At-Arms fully in his grip. The other seven tentacles reached out for them, but Stratos quickly maneuvered around them.
“Be more careful,” Man-At-Arms commanded. He was feeling dizzy and sick from all the spinning and twisting.

Fortunately, they reached out of the tentacles’ range and landed just outside the village. Teela drove up to them on the battle ram. “Father!” Teela rushed out of her seat and gave her father a strong hug.

“I’m fine, Teela,” Man-At-Arm hugged his daughter and looked out to the city. The tentacles were moving toward the city and the monster’s body had yet to be exposed. He let go of his daughter and examined his readings. “The city is lost,” Man-At-Arms put his hands down in defeat.

“Order a retreat,” Man-At-Arms gave a command. Teela didn’t want to believe it, but she couldn’t think of anything else. The missiles flying out from the battle rams did not do anything.

“Don’t give up yet,” He-man’s voice spoke through their communicators. He was flying over the creature on his sky sled. The tentacles reached out for him, but his sky sled maneuvered out of reach. He-man opened fire on the creature. There was no damage, but it distracted the monster.

Man-At-Arms suddenly had a flash of insight. He raised his scanner and focused it on the monster. “Of course,” Man-At-Arms said out loud, “I’ve been too focused on examining the energy from an up-close range. I didn’t think about looking at it from a distance,” he explained. His scanner showed the energy surrounding the tentacles and it showed a constant stream from out in the distance. Man-At-Arms tapped on his communicator, “He-man, the monster is getting constant feed from the comet piece. You break that connection, the monster returns to normal.”

He-man looked around the skies. Mer-man was flying toward the city on a flying sea serpent. “I got him,” He-man said but then he had another idea, “I’m going to need your help.” He-man raised his sky sled high into the air hit the ignition.

Mer-man was nearing the shore. His victory was now assured. His monster had not even emerged completely on land and it almost destroyed the entire city. The sea serpent roared as it glided the seas.

High in the clouds, He-man slowly flew his sky sled. The clouds parted and He-man saw his target. A sea serpent was moving toward shore and Mer-man stood on its back. He-man set the auto-pilot command on his ship. He tapped on his red iron cross emblem on this techno-vest and held out his left arm. He-man’s warrior shield appeared in his arm as he leaped out of the sky sled and fell straight toward the sea serpent. He-man had no fear or doubt about what he was about to do.

In the water, Mer-man could feel all around him. He could sense what sea creature moved within miles of him. But in the surface world, Mer-man could not sense anything.

“Incoming!” He-man suddenly screamed out.

Mer-man was caught unprepared by the sudden hard blow that struck him from above. The serpent beast roared at the surprise attack and fled with panic. Mer-man was suddenly struck with fear and shock. He-man and Mer-man were both falling. The trident fell from Mer-man’s hands as He-man threw a quick fist strike. He-man’s powerful hit was enough to send Mer-man hard into the ground.

Back at the city of Eezyar, Teela and Stratos prepared for another air assault when the squid began to shrink before their eyes. Man-At-Arms ran to the harbor and witnessed the squid monster was shrinking back to normal size.

“Stand back,” Man-At-Arms ordered through his communication link. He opened his scanning device on his armored bracer and looked at the results.

“The energy feed is gone,” Man-At-Arms said, “It’s going back to normal.” Man-At-Arms watched as the creature went back to its original form. He turned around and saw a water turret still standing. Casually, Man-At-Arms walked to the turret and faced the creature. “Back to the water with you,” Man-At-Arms pulled the lever on the turret and fired a powerful stream of water. The squid was blasted off the harbor and back into the sea.

Mer-man spiraled hard into the ground with the force of a fierce thunderstorm. Mer-man’s body was built to withstand pressures that could bend the strongest metals and crush coal into diamonds. Still, He-man’s punch knocked the wind of out him. Mer-man turned his head and saw his trident was just to his side.

He-man fell to the ground with a strong impact. The sand exploded outward and He-man stood ready. He could see Mer-man rising with the trident in his left hand and his shelled sword in his right. Mer-man was seething with anger. His body glowed with the trident’s power.

He-man tapped on his iron cross and opened his right hand. He gripped his battle axe as it appeared. He remembered the Sorceress’ warning. The Sword of Light remained sheathed on He-man’s back. With his sword and shield, He-man charged into battle with the comet empowered Mer-man.

Mer-man raised his trident and fired an electrical blast. With a quick flash, He-man raised his shield and let it absorb the blast. Mer-man kept his attack going as He-man moved closer to him. The electricity was not as enhanced as it would be underwater. His shield was made from very unique metals that absorbed any magical and physical attacks.

Mer-man stopped his lightning attack and stepped back, “You can’t stop me, He-man! I’m just as powerful as you.” Mer-man moved in for a strike but He-man blocked with his shield.

“You’re not any smarter though,” He-man moved in. With a rapid strike, He-man moved his axe to hook onto Mer-man’s trident. Catching Mer-man by surprise, He-man pulled back and forced the trident out of Mer-man’s hands. The trident flew out and into the sand. “You should have stayed in the water,” He-man commented. Mer-man could suddenly feel his magical power draining away.

Mer-man moved in for a strike. He-man blocked the attack, but a sudden magic bolt struck him from behind and sent him crashing down on the ground. The sound of a cracking whip suddenly filled the air. He-man tried to stand up, but he felt the whip quickly wrap itself around his neck and pull him back into the ground. The whip unleashed a powerful volt of energy causing He-man lost his grip on his axe. He gripped the whip around his neck, but the volts coursing through his body was sapping his strength. Beastman laughed at how easily he was going to choke the life out of He-man.

Pulling on the whip, He-man dragged Beastman toward him and used his shield to slam him down to the ground. Quickly breaking the whip, He-man rolled on the ground and grabbed his axe. He rose from the sand and prepared for battle. With a stinging pain on his back, He-man stood up and faced Evil-lyn. The evil enchantress was standing beside Mer-man. Beastman quickly recovered and stood next to his allies.

“You don’t think we were going to let Mer-man have all the fun, now?” Evil-lyn asked. Beastman and Mer-man moved in for the attack. Evil-lyn began to power up her magical staff. Evil-lyn rose from the ground and unleashed her magical blasts at He-man. Jumping out the way, He-man narrowly avoided the strikes, but Beastman moved in from behind and slashed at He-man. The techno-vest instantly deflected the strike. He-man back kicked Beastman away, but he quickly raised his shield to block an incoming sword strike from Mer-man.

He-man moved to strike Mer-man, but Evil-lyn fired a concussive blast from her staff and sent He-man reeling back.

Mer-man unleashed a series of electrical bolts at the heroic warrior. He-man raised his shield in time, but a second concussive blast struck He-man again from the side. He-man felt his body go numb. He needed to rise, but the stun blast was coursing through his body.

“Now we finish him,” Evil-lyn said with delight. She focused her energies on her staff. The evil enchantress was forming a very painful and deadly blast. Mer-man stood next to her and he began to collect his energies into his trident. “Beastman, hold him down,” Evil-lyn commanded.

“With,” Beastman snarled, “pleasure.” The evil creature walked before the stunned He-man and raised his electrified whip. He laughed at the thought of the pain he was going to inflict on He-man, “This is going to hurt a lot.” He-man could feel the stun energies fading, but he still could not move. With excitement, Beastman raised his whip.

A sonic blast erupted from the sky and struck Beastman straight in his chest. The evil warrior was sent flying back and crashed on the ground. “I imagined that hurt you a lot,” Stratos yelled as he soared past him. He-man felt the stun magic disappear from his body and quickly rose. He-man moved in for the attack.

“Fire!” Man-At-Arms ordered. He flew in on a sky sled and opened fire.

Teela flew right beside her father and did the same. Evil-lyn turned and blasted her energy at the incoming sky sleds. Both Man-At-Arms and Teela dodged the incoming strikes and returned fire.

Using the distraction created by his friends, He-man closed the gap between Evil-lyn and Mer-man. Evil-lyn turned to face the flat side of He-man’s shield slam down on her face. Mer-man unleashed his electrical energies, but He-man was too close. They were both engulfed by the intense electricity of the powered trident. Mer-man screamed as he felt the large amounts of volts enter his body.

He-man fought against the power and using all his strength, he swung his axe down. The axe’s sharp edge struck the base of the trident and broke the trident’s tip.

Man-At-Arms and Teela quickly landed nearby along with Stratos. The power of the comet was sending out powerful volts of energy. Teela tried to move in, but Man-At-Arms and Stratos held her back. An energy ray flew out near them and the area of sand was instantly super heated into glass.
He-man was an intense pain. He was getting the full force of the comet. “He-man!” The Sorceress voice echoed in his thoughts, “The comic piece has become unstable. If it explodes, it will scorch the entire region into ash!” He-man had lives to save.

Forcing his body against the intense pain and volts of energy, He-man reached out for the three pronged head of the trident. With a loud painful scream, He-man held the trident piece in his hand and forced himself to stand. His hand burned holding the trident head. He-man spun around collecting a powerful momentum. The sands flew out from the force He-man was building up.

A wind vortex formed around He-man.

Summoning all his strength, He-man launched the trident. The piece moved through the air with the force of a high velocity missile. The energy of the comet became brighter and the electrical sparks continued to increase at it soared higher and higher into the atmosphere. It soon passed Eternia’s atmosphere and continued into outer space. The comet piece hit its critical stage and exploded in a blinding yellow light outside of Eternia’s atmosphere.
From the shore, He-man and his allies witnessed the explosion. “That could have been bad,” Stratos said.

“I don’t care to have to deal with that piece of rock again,” He-man said. He was finally relieved. He looked down at the unconscious evil warriors.
Teela smiled, “Evil-lyn, Mer-man, and Beastman. Not bad for a day’s work. I’ll call in for a transport and heavy security.” Teela returned to her sky sled and tapped on the communicator system.

Man-At-Arms stood next to He-man and spoke quietly, “You did a great job today.” He patted He-man on the shoulder and smiled, “Let’s get these villains shackled.” Man-At-Arms and He-man moved in to Evil-lyn and the others.

Suddenly, a green energy barrier formed around the three unconscious villains. Man-At-Arms on instinct smashed the barrier with his mace, but the mace failed to penetrate the wall. The green force-field began to expand out. Stratos moved in besides Man-At-Arms and He-man. All the warriors pulled out their weapons when a sudden light flashed inside the force field and three humanoid forms appeared.

Skeletor appeared in the middle of energy barrier. His featureless bone face slowly looked around his surroundings. Only the glowing red orbs in the eye sockets proved that Skeletor was a living being. “I see my warriors like to remain busy when I’m not around,” Skeletor spoke. He held his Havoc staff in his hand and his Sword of Darkness was sheathed on his back. He appeared relaxed or indignant of He-man and the warriors.

Tri-klops appeared at one end inside the magical barrier. He held his sword ready and his optic visor glowed. Trap-jaw stomped on the ground behind Skeletor. His energy blaster was charged and ready for battle.

For a moment, none of the conscious warriors said a word. Skeletor stepped past the fallen Beastman and Evil-lyn. He gazed down on Mer-man.

Stomping his Havoc staff into the ground, Skeletor sent out his own lightning rays into the ground and struck his three fallen soldiers. Beastman was the first to open his eyes and gaze at his master. Beastman quickly went to his knees and kneeled down before Skeletor. Evil-lyn looked at him with fear and shock. She rose to one knee and bowed to him. Mer-man remained unconscious but began to breath.

Skeletor turned his attention back to He-man and his allies. His hollow empty eyes lit up with power. He-man held his sword ready. Skeletor’s havoc staff glowed with power. They were both ready.

The sound of engines filled the skies. Dozens of Eternian guards on sky sleds arrived and hovered around the dome. Battle ram roared on the beach and the missiles locked on Skeletor and his allies.

Skeletor did not break his gaze from He-man. Trap-jaw and Tri-klops looked worried. There were a lot of Eternian guards with weapons and energy rifles. Skeletor’s eyes glowed with power.

There was silence for long moment. “Another time, He-man. Another battle,” Skeletor said. The overlord of evil pulled out a red crystal and smashed the piece with his hand. He turned around and walked back to his lieutenants. He-man raised his Sword of Light and moved in to pierce the force-field when a sudden flash of red light exploded inside the barrier.

He-man and his allies turned away from the bright light. When the turn their gaze back, Skeletor and his men are gone. He-man sheathed his sword and contemplated what had just happened.

Man-At-Arms walked up to He-man’s side. “Don’t worry, He-man,” Man-At-Arms reassured him, “You can defeat him and his forces. I have faith in you. I know you can.”

He-man turned and faced his mentor then he turned and saw Teela and Stratos. He looked around and saw an army of Eternia’s finest warriors. The warriors around the area were silent. The ocean waves made the only sounds. All eyes were on him.

“No, I can’t,” He-man declared. A quiet hush moved over the area. He-man stepped away from Man-At-Arms and stood in the open. “I can’t do it alone,” He-man declared. His voice spread out to everybody. “It’s going to take each and every one of us to rise and hold the line. This is why we are all Masters of The Universe. Together, we can hold the line and shape the destiny of the universe,” He-man declared.

He-man turned and faced Man-At-Arms. Teela, Stratos, and Orko were all now standing together. “There are others who will join us. We will find them and they will find us. There are heroes out there who will stand against the forces of evil.

We will find them and grow our ranks” He-man stood side by side with Man-At-Arms and his friends. He turned to Teela and Stratos. The Avian nodded his approval and Teela smiled back.

He-man looked over at Man-At-Arms. The veternan warrior also nodded his approval. He-man turned to the guards and warriors in the field. With determination in his eyes, He-man yelled, “Who will join us?!?”
With a massive cheer from the Eternias, the call was sent out through Eternia.

The forces of good had awakened and rallied to one man. The Sorceress watched He-man as he returned to the city of Eezyar. Everyone joined in the construction and the rebuilding of the city. He-man was not just a warrior. He became the inspiration and hope that was prophesized. The Sorceress leaned back on Grayskull’s throne. He-man was truly the champion the elders had foretold, but she wondered about Skeletor. The Sorceress knew Skeletor was back at Snake Mountain contemplating his next move with his evil followers.